May 2016 Running Challenge
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I've got a new 10km PR: 58:27!
My first sub-60 minute 10k, can you guess how happy I'm feeling right now?
Here's the race report, for those of you who like reading that kind of stuff. As usual, much too long, so read at your own risk ^^
Before the start:
When I signed up, I was convinced I could manage a PR under one hour (my previous 10k PR was 1:01:02). I started having my doubts about that before the start - the weather was so hot! 24°C (75°C), but it felt much warmer. Who organises a race that starts at 16:45 in the afternoon in the second half of May? And how stupid did I have to be to sign up for it?!
Well, I was there, I had paid for it, so I picked up my bib an hour before race start and found a shady place to wait. There was a 5k on the same route which started an hour before the 10k, so I hung out on the sidelines for a while to cheer for the 5k runners as they came in. 10 minutes before the start, I bought myself two bottles of water - one I drank, the other one I poured over my head with the idea that that would help battle the heat. I probably could have saved the money - by the time the gun went off, my hair and shirt were already dry again...
The first 5km loop - paces 5:31 - 6:11 - 5:58 - 5:56 - 5:46 min/km
Right after the start, I realised the course was not as flat as I had expected. I must have mixed the "perfectly flat course" I was expecting with some other race I read about, because this one didn't have any flat parts at all, it was rolling hills all the way.
I let the exitement of the start and the fact that the first kilometre leading out of the village was nearly completely downhill lure me into going out too fast. It was easy enough to correct for that during the 2km that followed - at least 1.5km of those were nearly completely uphill, and the hot weather was starting to get to me, so slowing down to get closer to my goal pace of "5:57 min/km or a little faster" happened nearly automatic. Actually, by the end of the third kilometre, I was ready to give up on my PR-plans, it was just so hot, running at my goal pace was a real struggle! The course was really beatiful, mostly leading through vinyards at that point, but I would have preferred at least a few trees every now and then...
Fortunately, we passed a farm house around 3.2km, where the family had set up what looked like an improvised aid station: they had a little table at the road side with three pitchers of water, and a little sprinkler set up next to it. If you wanted to drink something, you had to stop, drink straight from the pitcher and hand it over to the next runner. The people were apologizing that thay didn't have any cups - but I don't think anyone cared, we were all so grateful for the water!
Thanks to them, I felt refreshed enough that I was able to keep up the pace until the official aid station around 4.0km (the fact that this kilometre was all downhill certainly helped), where I grabbed two cups of water and walked long enough to drink them both. They had a lawn sprinkler set up as well, which was nice, even if the cooling effect didn't last long.
The next kilometre was a slight climb again, leaving the countryside and leading back into the village. Despite that, my pace here was a bit faster than goal pace again. The water stops helped, and even more of that, this stretch of the course came with the best feature of the entire race: the fire brigade had rigged a hydrant to spray water. And this was no mild drizzle, it was a real jet of water! Instead of skirting the edge like the runners in front of me, I ran straight through the centre. I was nearly blinded for a few seconds by the force of the spray, and afterwards I was completely drenched in cold water - freaking awesome!
There were maybe 500m between the hydrant to the end of the first loop, and after the mostly empty countryside, there were some spectators again, so this part of the race was really uplifting.
The second 5km loop - paces 6:01 - 6:22 - 5:55 - 5:51 - 5:24 min/km
The second loop was exaclty the same as the first, so this time around I already knew what to expect.
The distance between 6km and 7.5km was probably the hardest of the entire race - it was the same gently but near-continuous climb as on the first loop, the sun was still as merciless as before, and the field was so streched out, there wasn't a pack of runners surrounding me to pull me along. In my mind I had already split up the race into "just get to the nice people with the water at 8.4km, after that it's just a few hundred meters to the next water stop, and then a few hundred more to the awesome water hydrant, and then you are already almost at the finish line".
Around 7.5km, I caught up to two other runners. I was running slightly behind them and didn't see their faces or their bib numbers, so they are only know to me as "the girl with the black-and-pink shorts" and "the guy with the neon yellow shirt"
I rather liked their pace, and having someone to follow was also nice, so I hung behind them past the two water stops.
Around 9km, as the road started the last gentle climb, black-shorts-girl began to slow down a lot, and yellow-shirt-guy switched to walking. So much for my pacers *sigh*
I left them behind, because I couldn't wait getting to the hydrant. It was as fantastic as the first time! It left me drenched to the skin and with a big smile on my face, because at that point I was well in line for a time below 59 minutes, and I knew that after that cold shower, there was no way anything would get between me and that PR!
Shortly after that, when one spectator shouted "300m to go", I gathered all the energy and went as fast as I could, making my last split the fastest of the entire race.
Since I started my watch a little too late (again! - I wonder if I'll ever learn...), I couldn't trust the numbers it was showing (58:21 for 9.98km, I knew there was a bit of time and distance missing). But I was sure it was a time below 60 minutes, and when they posted the results, that confirmed it: the chip time was 58:27
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I am not going to disclose the amount of running clothes I have....
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Way to go @_nikkiwolf_ that is fantastic! Great race report! I love the fire hydrant idea!
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DATE...............MILES.............TOTAL
5/1....................REST................00.00
5/2....................REST................00.00
5/3.......................5.00.................5.00
5/4.....................10.00...............15.00
5/5.......................3.00...............18.00
5/6....................REST................18.00
5/7.....................12.00...............30.00
5/8.......................6.00...............36.00
5/9....................REST................36.00
5/10..................REST................36.00
5/11.....................5.00...............41.00
5/12.....................4.00...............45.00
5/13..................REST................45.00
5/14...................31.50...............76.50 (GRT 50k Ultra)
5/15..................REST................76.50
5/16..................REST................76.50
5/17.....................5.50...............82.00
5/18.....................5.00...............87.00
5/19..................REST................87.00
5/20.....................2.00...............89.00 (Very slow, leash-tangling, weed-chewing, tree-sniffing puppy-running experiment)
5/21.....................8.50...............97.50
2016 Races
5/14: Glacier Ridge Ultra -- 50k (Portersville, PA)
7/9: Buckeye Trail 50k -- 50k (Brecksville, OH)
7/16: ColorRun --5k (with my 15 year old)(Pittsburgh, PA)
9/10: 1st Annual Possum Glory Endurance Race -- 50k (Northern Cambria, PA)
10/1: Cloudsplitter 100 -- 100 Miles (Pine Mountain, KY)
10/15: Buffalo Creek Half Marathon (Sarver, PA)2 -
PoppetsMaster wrote: »I am not going to disclose the amount of running clothes I have....
A few months ago I was running in cotton. Now I have too many) 2 -
I don't have any cotton... I value my nipples.3
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Ran a new section of the North Country Trail today.... I do not know how they justify calling this a trail. I say it is just grass with some blue ribbons to aim for... and of course it was raining....
So when I finally exited the grass, I was greeted by mud and puddles... glorious... lol
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Great job @_nikkiwolf_. I really enjoyed the recap. Sounds kind of brutal with the heat and need for water, but great job. I'm impressed with your PR.
I had a good long run today of 75 minutes, 6.3 miles. The pace was steady and comfortable, and I can tell how much stronger I've gotten since I started 8 months ago.
I signed up for and formed a team for a 5k in August to supporting cancer research for the kind of cancer I lost my sister to in 2014. Even though this is just a 5k, it's now feeling like a BIG race to me and is giving me motivation to really train this summer. Given that I'm signing up for half marathon training, that training may be more than I bargain for.
Getting closer to my May goal!
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MNLittleFinn wrote: »Small ego boost of the day...when I went to the running store to (hopefully) buy a pare of Brooks Sherpa shorts (they were out
) I got asked if I was in training for the Grandma's marathon....guess I'm starting to look like a runner or something....or the guy was just being charitable....
Self-image lags public perception. When I was in Boston, people were asking my sister (who was there as a spectator and cheerleader) if she was running the marathon. Yes, she looks like a marathon runner. No, she didn't realize she looks like one. She never thought about it, because she's never done events longer than a half marathon or an Olympic distance triathlon.
In similar fashion, I thought the desk clerk in Framingham just made a lucky guess when she asked if I was running. I didn't realize that *I* look like a marathon runner till I saw a picture my sister took of me at bib pickup.4 -
Thankfully, I've been better about running this month than I have been about checking in and posting here. It's the last month of the school year, so I know things will slow down soon (and I'm SO looking forward to it). I have 94 miles on the schedule, per my training plan, but I think I'm on track to hit an even 100! Despite already being 2/3 of the way through it, this scares the pants off me! I never imagined I'd run 100 miles ever, let alone in one month!
I do wish it would quit raining, though.
5/1 - 4.5m easy
5/2 - 4m easy then fast w/rain
5/4 - 3.2m moderate w/rain
5/6 - 2.5m moderate
5/7 - 6m RACE 11:10 pace
5/8 - 4.8 easy
5/10 - 4 easy 1 fast
5/11 - 4m easy
5/13 - 5.5 moderate
5/14 - 3.3 easy but interupted
5/15 - 4.1 easy
5/18 - 4 tempo
5/19 - 5.2 easy
5/20 - 3.2 easy
5/21 - 4 easy
5/22 -
5/24 -
5/26 -
5/27 -
5/28 -
5/29 -
5/31 -
Total: 64/94
5/7 - Sgt. Larner Memorial 10k
6/25 - Jackson River Scenic Trail 10k
9/4 - VA Beach R&R Half Marathon
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5/1 - rest
5/2 - 4m
5/3 - 5m
5/4 - 6m
5/5 - weights
5/6 - 5m
5/7 - 10m
5/8 - rest
5/9 - 3.8m
5/10 - 3.5m
5/11 - 7m
5/12 - weights
5/13 - 3m
5/14 - 6.2m
5/15 - rest
5/16 - 4m
5/17 - 6m
5/18 - 7m ****breaking in new shoes: Asics Gel Nimbus 17s
5/19 - weights
5/20 - 6m [/i]
5/21 - 12m
**new personal distance record
Distance to date: 88.5m
Goal: 126m (70.2% complete)
Learned a few things about my body from today's run.
1) After 10 miles, my energy level is gone, so I'll need to refuel at about mile 6 or 7 to sustain me during my half marathon in 2 weeks. I bought an electrolyte packet today for it too.
2) I sweat a ton and now my butt is chapped.
Training Plan (in case anyone is interested)
coolrunning.com/engine/2/2_4/134.shtml
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Congrats @Lord007 on the new distance PR! If you still feel slower/shuffling after adding in some extra calories you might just need to add some core work to build up strength/endurance there to support those long runs.[/quote]
I typically run on an empty stomach.. I don't want anything heavy sloshing around. I'll just need to have something at about the midpoint to fuel me through the last half.
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@_nikkiwolf_ Congratulations on the sub60 10k PR!! Way To Go!
@adrianchr92, @poppetsmaster, @elise4270 and others on washing running clothes. I was mine twice a week in super hot water (my washer has a 'Sanitary' setting). I also use Nathan's Sport Wash at least once a month. I have tons of running shirts but seem to go in cycles of what I wear and won't wear them if they are too tight or too short so they sit in the drawer. I don't have as many capris or shorts so I wash more often for those. I also no longer wear anything cotton because it just soaks up too much sweat and gets too heavy!
Below are some pictures from an absolutely beautiful run today (weather, scenery and run itself)! I found the run actually pretty easy but had a hard time keeping my HR down where I wanted it. I was running against the wind for quite a bit of the run and it was more difficult than I thought so it was a slow. I think this was a distance PR for me - 14.51 miles! I will post my tracker and ticker later once I find them - it has been a while and hundreds of posts back that I posted it last.
The pictures really don't do it justice - the water and trees were so pretty offset with the blue blue sky and poofy clouds!
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I just realized that I have 6 different alarms on my phone...to account for wake up times for various run and nonrun days3
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What the hell, @whatmerunning!?!? Don't tell me that you've never pulled out dirty, crusty, stinky running clothes out of the dirty laundry and worn them before because you couldn't find anything clean! I've done that more than I would admit to normal folks. I've even done that with my favorite short tights before, which I wear without anything underneath.
Perhaps I misjudged you...
I wear the same thing to run all week long, Skip complains when I get home but I don't care what she thinks LOL
I have to find my mileage listing but
5/20 - 5 miles with Skip
5/21 - life day
I can't recall where I'm at mileage wise I need to check tomorrow probably 60 or 65 of 100
@shanaber sorry to hear about hubby's job that truly sucks
@_nikkiwolf_ sounds like it was a hot one, congrats on the PR woohoo!!!!
@poppetsmaster I hate to disclose what I have too, probably 30 shirts, 15 tights and 7 pairs of shorts along with 20 pairs of socks LOL0 -
PoppetsMaster wrote: »Ran a new section of the North Country Trail today.... I do not know how they justify calling this a trail. I say it is just grass with some blue ribbons to aim for... and of course it was raining....
So when I finally exited the grass, I was greeted by mud and puddles... glorious... lol
@PoppetsMaster The positive, there was Mud, there were ribbons and they weren't Green Ribbons. I had a winter run where they had painted arrows on the snow bank - good until it started snowing and covered them up. And what fool used yellow paint?AdrianChr92 wrote: »Oh and it seems I found a local running group. A guy approached me while running and said I should come Saturday morning cause they are doing 5k. They are new but I can't wait to join them. Small city and too few runners.
Well shirts aren't a problem. If you do a few races you will have a lot of them anyway. Shorts are more of a problem. I need at least 3 pairs. They should start to add shorts to race kits)
@AdrianChr92 Glad you found a local running group. FB says we have about 150 members in our local club - realistically there are only about 20 that come out regularly ( at least once a week ), normal crowd is 6-8 people.
I like the idea of Shorts for Race Kit Bling - Might have to Throw that out to a local store that organizes at least 1/2 of the events. Between Buying a couple of shirts I really liked and race kit I don't need tops, just more shorts and winter tights.
Two of My Running Club Friends were out for a Trail Run in the Muddy Hills and found this
Yes that is a Bear Paw Print, and a very Healthy one by the size of the print.
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@skippygirlsmom I'm glad I'm not the only one who wears the same clothes for all my runs each week! Hope the running is going good!0
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@lord007 Congrats on the distance PR!
@_nikkiwolf_ Great race recap. Congrats on the PR for the 10k.
Question for the more seasoned runners, I am read Jeff Galloway's Running A Year Round Plan, and he talks about walk breaks during your runs and that there is no reason to stop using them. How many people use walk breaks in the manner he describes? My understanding of the Couch to 5k plan is to be able to run 5k without walk breaks. Is one plan better than the other? If I need a walk break every mile or so, is that a bad thing? Please help. I am confused.0 -
@kimlight2 - I've never tried the Galloway method but there are always some people who do at all races I have been to. You can tell because their app makes a recognizable beep pattern when they are supposed to alternate between walking and running. I have been in races where I was running consistently and have kept up, passed, or been passed by them depending on how I perform that day overall. They keep a steady pace overall.
I have used walking intervals though with pacer groups and found them helpful at my first few halfs and my first full. Typically they run a mile or two then walk for 30 seconds to a minute, and walk through all aid stations. It works well.
Once I was able to run halfs all the way through I pretty much gave up on that, and would do the same if I run an entire full too. I consider it part of developing as a long distance runner.1 -
Just 7 miles split between a treadmill & the rainy outdoors this afternoon before catching up with my folks over dinner. Meeting a friend for a long-ish run in the AM before eating brunch with the parents as they head out of town. My usual Sunday morning group has shrunk, as one guy just wrapped up the New England challenge (knocking out 5 marathons in 5 days - all in under 4 hours, and one in 3:07), and another is on the disabled list until Tuesday.
5/1 - 26.2 miles (Pittsburgh Marathon - 3:08:25 - 7:11/mile, ran as bib #666 in full devil costume, got a BQ)
5/5 - 6 miles
5/9 - 15 miles
5/10 - 6 miles
5/11 - 3 miles
5/12 - 2 miles
5/13 - 4.5 miles
5/14 - 6 miles
5/15 - 3 miles
5/17 - 11 miles
5/18 - 10 miles
5/19 - 11 miles
5/20 - 2.5 miles
5/21 - 7 miles
Total: 113 miles
Goal: 180 miles
Remaining: 67 miles
Next Races:
Ironman 70.3 Augusta - September
Chicago Marathon - October
Ironman Florida - November
@_nikkiwolf_ - Congrads on the 10K PR. If you can do it in that sort of weather, you'll be crushing the 10K distance at more reasonable weather in the fall!
@mnlittlefinn - Re laundry - I've been picking up running clothing over time as I've taken off weight, so when I run low, I just revert to my oversized L/XL shirts & shorts (with tightened drawstrings) - which gets me through about a dozen runs up north or back in Florida (as I keep clothes in both spots) between laundry sessions. I always wash on hot w. tide/bounce sheets and despite 2 weeks of sitting around, I haven't had any odor problems. Still, last winter, I came across a black friday deal for $13 nike dri-fit shirts, and $6 adidas 5" running shorts so I stocked up on enough of both to get me through that length of time. For socks, the $12 per 6-pack adidas compression models from costco work pretty well, although some friends aren't as big of a fan of the lines of compression padding on the bottom of the sole.
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@juliet3455 I've seen prints like that when out running. The scarier ones are prints that look nearly that big, but they are from wolves.....0
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@lord007 Congrats on the distance PR!
@_nikkiwolf_ Great race recap. Congrats on the PR for the 10k.
Question for the more seasoned runners, I am read Jeff Galloway's Running A Year Round Plan, and he talks about walk breaks during your runs and that there is no reason to stop using them. How many people use walk breaks in the manner he describes? My understanding of the Couch to 5k plan is to be able to run 5k without walk breaks. Is one plan better than the other? If I need a walk break every mile or so, is that a bad thing? Please help. I am confused.
Got to chat with Jeff at a pre-marathon expo a few years back. He mentioned that folks up to 3:30ish marathoners even used the method, although I'm curious how a person would average 8 minute miles with walk breaks. Haven't spotted Galloway method users on full/half courses at speeds under 9 minutes/mile though, I did see a handful at my first marathon (in the 10/mile pace range). Just need to look out for them on crowded courses as they'll often suddenly stop (and need to be run around if they don't move to the side first).0 -
May Goal: Run just a scootch more than last month...
5/1 deep mucking of the chicken coop and environs
5/2 4.0
5/3 life day
5/4 7.54
5/5 snorkel 3.5hours
5/6 3.21
5/7 4.05
5/8 rest
5/9 4.05
5/10 meh
5/11 4.54
5/12 3.26
5/13 6.05
5/14 rest
5/15 4.02
5/16 3.16
5/17 snorkel 3.5 hours.
5/18 4.00
5/19 snorkel 4.5 hours (a 2 snorkel week!)
5/20 sickface (swallowed too much salt water?)
5/21 4.12
Total 52.00
Upcoming races:
6/26 SHEPower Virtual 1/2 marathon
11/13 Las Vegas Rock n Roll 1/2 marathon
Ticker is my goal for 2016 and accumulation to date:
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5/1 25 min spinning, no run
5/2 3.9 miles
5/3 4.2 miles
5/5 4.5 miles
5/6 2.8 miles
5/9 4.56 miles
5/19 4.34 miles
5/21 1.5 miles
first road run--it was so much harder than treadmill! not about self consciousness or anything, It was just difficult to keep my pace of breathing. And I've never known turning around a corner would take so much control lol. Glad I found out today because I still have a month to get used to running outside before my first race.
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@skippygirlsmom - I can't even imagine wearing the same running clothes all week - mine are soaked when I am finished. I even rinse them out and hang them to dry in the hotel room just in case I need them even though I always take a set for nearly every day. Also I have so many running socks! I have stocked up on Smartwool when they have been deeply discounted and now have a drawer full in use and another drawer full of brand new ones unopened!
@ohhim - I hate it when people stop like that or walk in the middle of the road/trail! I have taken to 'gently' suggesting they move to the side and out of people's way... many times they still don't get it.1 -
Date..........Miles.........Total
05/01.......0.00..........0.00
05/02.......5.16..........5.16 - + Agility
05/03.......0.00..........5.16 - Dallas
05/04.......4.25..........9.41
05/05.......0.00..........9.41 - Home
05/06.......0.00..........9.41
05/07.....10.03........19.44
05/08.......2.50........21.94 - Dog beach run
05/09.......2.00........23.94 - Dallas
05/10.......4.31........28.25
05/11.......0.00........28.25 - Home
05/12.......4.07........32.32 - + Strength Training
05/13.......0.00........32.32
05/14.......8.32........40.64
05/15.......2.00........42.64 - Walk with the girl and her pup
05/16.......0.00........42.64 - Seattle
05/17.......0.00........42.64
05/18.......0.00........42.64 - Home
05/19.......5.01........47.65 - + Strength Training
05/20.......0.00........47.65 - Supposed to be a vacation day but it was a busy work day
05/21.....14.51........62.16 - Distance PR
05/22.......0.00........62.16
Upcoming Races - Let me know if you will be running too!
06/25/16 - SHEPower Virtual Half Marathon
07/31/16 - San Francisco 2nd Half Marathon
09/xx/16 - Beat the Blerch Half Marathon, Seattle
11/19/16 - USA Invitational Half Marathon (Yay, I qualified again!)
xx/xx/xx - Nike Women's Half Marathon, Los Angeles
12/18/16 - San Diego Holiday Half Marathon1 -
PoppetsMaster wrote: »Holy crap, what happened to your face?!
Lol... that is a picture from a couple of years ago following one of my more spectacular trail wrecks on the Glacier Ridge Trail... I hit slick mud and went over an embankment and hammered a tree... since I was still nearly 4 miles from my car I had no choice but to keep running. I got terrified stares from casual hikers, high fives from other trail runners and stitches from the doctor.... all in all it was one of my favorite runs.
So awesome!0 -
09/xx/16 - Beat the Blerch Half Marathon, Seattle
Awesome. I want to do the Beat the Blerch Virtual Half Marathon that weekend.
http://www.beattheblerch.com/virtual.html
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